God forgives. Whatever the past, sin and shame, whatever the foolishness and miserable choices made, God forgives the repentant heart and life. Time wasted, opportunities missed, righteousness neglected, God is willing and able to forgive them all. “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward them who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us… the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him” (Psalm 103.10-12, 17).
If we were dealt with as we deserve, we would have no hope. Already we would have faced righteous and severe judgment, and there would be absolutely nothing we could do to escape the horror of our deserved reality. But the “steadfast love of the LORD” is willing to completely forgive, totally remove, and unequivocally disintegrate all past sin from our lives. This is not because of our merit, but only because of His love, only in the demonstration of His unlimited grace and mercy. As there is no connecting “east and west” which has only immeasurable distance between the two, so far are our sins removed from us. They are gone never to haunt us, never to taunt us, never to accuse us, never to condemn us. They are gone because of His “steadfast love” shown and confirmed through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ; washed completely away through His blood shed on Calvary’s Cross; annihilated through His resurrection from the dead. They are gone and we are free to live in His forgiveness, in His love, in His will, in His righteousness, and in the hope of His coming again; they are gone and we are free to praise Him, to worship Him, to live in the power of His Spirit; they are gone and we are free to live life today, enjoying all He has freely given us and promised to us.
Forgiven with hope – we have much to be thankful for –
Terry Burlingame
My Morning Desk 